Judgment is Sure to Come
January 6, 2022
Commentary
Jeremiah’s first sermon was one of condemnation to backsliding Israel. The second gave an invitation, “Return unto me.” The third is one of judgment, describing the forthcoming judgement of God’s wrath upon His people for their sin. Again God promises to respond positively if Israel and Judah will indeed return unto Him (vv. 1-4). The Lord tells the people to head for Jerusalem (vv. 5-6). However, their repentance had to be genuine. Jeremiah uses three symbols to describe the coming judgment of the Babylonian invaders from the north.
The first symbol was a lion coming in from the thicket. It comes to destroy not only the cities of Judah but also the Gentiles. He was a destroyer of nations coming to lay waste cities (vv. 7-8) to disrupt all leadership (v. 9), and to take away all national peace (v. 10).The second symbol is a scorching wind that blows in from the desert. This invasion was prophesied to be destructive to the life and livelihood of the people (vv. 11-14). The hordes of invaders were to come swiftly and in clouds of dust caused by their horses and chariots.The third symbol was that of the watchers. These were to come from a far country (vv. 15-18), staking out the Holy City and watching movement within its walls, waiting for the strategic moment to strike. The watchers symbolize the eyes of the divine Judge who sees the thoughts, desires and motives of the heart, and determines the moment of execution.
Application
God’s judgement is sure to come in my life if I refuse to allow the Word of God to remove the sin that hardens my heart before the good seed of God’s commands can take root (v. 3). Likewise, I must allow God to remove the thorns in my life if I expect God’s word to take root and grow.
Jeremiah 4:1– 18 (NET)
1 “If you, Israel, want to come back,” says the Lord, “if you want to come back to me, you must get those disgusting idols out of my sight and must no longer go astray.
2 You must be truthful, honest, and upright when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ If you do, the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are and will make him the object of their boasting.”
3 Yes, this is what the Lord has said to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground, do not cast seeds among thorns.
4 Commit yourselves to the Lord; dedicate your hearts to me people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Otherwise, my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you that no one will be able to extinguish. That will happen because of the evil you have done.”
5 The Lord said, “Announce this in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem: ‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’ Shout out loudly, ‘Gather together! Let us flee into the fortified cities!’
6 Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion. Run for safety! Do not delay! For I am about to bring disaster out of the north. It will bring great destruction.
7 Like a lion that has come up from its lair the one who destroys nations has set out from his home base. He is coming out to lay your land waste. Your cities will become ruins and lie uninhabited.
8 So put on sackcloth! Mourn and wail, saying, ‘The fierce anger of the Lord has not turned away from us!’
9 When this happens,” says the Lord, “the king and his officials will lose their courage. The priests will be struck with horror, and the prophets will be speechless in astonishment.”
10 In response to all this I said, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have surely allowed the people of Judah and Jerusalem to be deceived by those who say, ‘You will be safe!’ But in fact a sword is already at our throats.”
11 At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind will sweep down from the hilltops in the wilderness on my dear people. It will not be a gentle breeze for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff.
12 No, a wind too strong for that will come at my bidding. Yes, even now I, myself, am calling down judgment on them.
13 Look! The enemy is approaching like gathering clouds. The roar of his chariots is like that of a whirlwind. His horses move more swiftly than eagles.” I cry out, “We are doomed, for we will be destroyed!”
14 O people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil so that you may yet be delivered. How long will you continue to harbor up wicked schemes within you?
15 For messengers are coming, heralding disaster, from the city of Dan and from the hills of Ephraim.
16 They are saying, “Announce to the surrounding nations, ‘The enemy is coming!’ Proclaim this message to Jerusalem: ‘Those who besiege cities are coming from a distant land. They are ready to raise the battle cry against the towns in Judah.’
17 They will surround Jerusalem like men guarding a field because they have rebelled against me,” says the Lord.
18 “The way you have lived and the things you have done will bring this on you. This is the punishment you deserve, and it will be painful indeed. The pain will be so bad it will pierce your heart.”
Illustration: A City That Dared God to Show Himself
In a book entitled Down to Earth, John Lawrence tells the story of a city that dared God to show Himself and paid a terrible price. It seems that the city of Messina, Sicily, was home to many wicked, irreligious people. On December 25, 1908, a newspaper published in Messina printed a parody against God, daring Him to make Himself known by sending an earthquake. Three days later, on December 28, the city and its surrounding district was devastated by a terrible quake that killed 84,000 people. (Today in the Word, October, 1997, p. 2).